DNI names Phil Craig as chief creative officer

Discovery has appointed Phil Craig as executive vice president and chief creative officer for Discovery Networks International (DNI).

He joins Discovery from ABC TV in Australia, where he has been head of factual since 2012, based in Sydney.

Before ABC, Craig worked for UK indie Nutopia, where his credits included Discovery series How We Invented the World.

Craig will lead the international production and development team at Discovery, reporting to JB Perrette, president of Discovery Networks International.

He will be based in London with a starting date of February 2015.

The position of chief creative officer is newly created following the combination of the roles of chief content officer and creative director, head of production and development for Discovery Networks International, previously held by Luis Silberwasser and Julian Bellamy respectively, who left Discovery earlier in 2014.

“I’m thrilled that Phil Craig is joining us to lead DNI’s creative strategy and team. It is a hugely exciting time for the company, with international revenues now exceeding those in the U.S., and the incredible momentum of our international network portfolio which just delivered a 3rd straight record quarter in viewership,” said Perrette.

Craig will lead the Discovery production and development group which spans five locations: Silver Spring, New York, Miami, London and Singapore. He will develop factual and lifestyle content primarily for Discovery’s flagship global networks Discovery Channel and TLC, and will work with his U.S. counterparts on content sharing and development.

Craig is also charged with championing the development, production and sharing of regionally and locally produced content and formats across Discovery’s five international operating regions. He will work with Rosemary Newell, DNI’s SVP programming and content operations, who has led the production and development group in the interim phase while the search was conducted.

The DNI Production and Development group was established in 2011 and charged with creating content specifically for Discovery’s international networks.

It has grown to work with over 70 UK independent producers and many more around the world – developing and producing more than 160 hours of original content each year.

The group is responsible for shows such as Marooned With Ed Stafford, Manhunt, The Unexplained Files, And Several Series Starring Bear Grylls, Including Escape From Hell And The Upcoming Breaking Point.